Material handling device



Sept. 29, 1942. R. w. KALTENBACH 2,297,356

MATERIAL HANDLING DEVICE Original Filed May 13, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. B05527 MMQLTEA/BAC/i BY ATTJKA/EYS Se t. 29, 1942. R. W.KALTENBACH 2,297,356

MATERIAL HANDLING DEVICE I Original Filed May 13, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 6 2 Z 25 '24 2'7 1- fr 5 3 Fin 5 INVENTOR. 11 05527 M Mam/5,401

fina My ffll 6.2%

Patented Sept. 29, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 6 Claims.

railway cars to vessels, and the present application is -a division of my copending application, Serial No. 207,776, filed May 13, 1938. One form of device that is suitable for thispurpose has included a material receiving member, such as a chute or pan, and an extensible vertical spout which is mounted for universal swinging movement adjacent the outer end of the pan.

An important consideration in the design of a car dumper is the provision of means for reducing breakage of coal to a minimum as it is moved downwardly into the extensible chute. Degradation of coal, in itsmovement from a car to a vessel, occurs not only in the pan, but also at the point where the coal is emptied from the car onto the pan. In other words, degradation occurs whenever a drop is present in the line of coal flow. One instance of such occurrence is between the top edge of the car and the adjacent wall of the cradle, and this has been caused by the fact that the car has been supported upon spaced parallel bumper bars or blocks that project outwardly from the wall of the cradle. Bumper bars have been deemed necessary, however, in order to provide adequate space for receiving the ladder handles on the sideof the car.

An object of my invention, therefore, is to eliminate the drop between the top of the car and the side wall of the cradle. This I accomplish by eliminating the spaced bumper bars and providing instead a construction that will enable the sides of the car to rest directly upon the side of the cradle and still provide adequate space for the ladder handles.

The power required to lift and tilt a loaded car reaches a maximum during the tilting operation; the major portion of the power for the tilting operation being required at the start of it. My invention, therefore, additionally contemplates a construction by means of which considerable resistance to the turning efiort is overcome during the lifting motion of the cradle. This advantage results in a saving in power each time that the cradle is operated.

Referring now to the drawings, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a car dumper embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken through the car supporting cradle, and Fig. 3 is a section taken on a, plane indicated by the lines 3-3 in Fig. 2.

A material handling device with which I have illustrated my invention embodies a car dumper having a frame ['0 in which a car supporting cradle II is movably mounted. The cradle is shown in full lines inthe tilted position with a car mounted thereon and clamped thereto. In the broken line position l la, the cradle is at the lowermost position, and in the broken line position indicated at I It), the cradle is at an intermediate positionWhnever the cradle is turned at the top of the lifting operation, the material within the car flows into a pan I3 and thence into a telescopic. spout 20 which is pivotally mounted on the outer end of the pan.

To minimize the drop in the flow of coal from the car onto the cradle and thence onto an apron 25 which'bridges the gap between the cradle and the pan during the turning movement of the cradle, I cause the car to rest directly against the wall 26 of thecradle, and I provide a well 2] in the wall to accommodate the ladder handles which normally project outwardly from the wall of the car. The cradle wall 26 extends above the top of the car in a continuous plane, and projects, as at 28, above the hinge 'pin 29 about which the apron is pivoted during the tilting operation. Thus, whenever the cradle is tilted at the top of the lifting operation, there is a smooth surface along which the coal may flow from the car into the pan. This construction allows the car to be clamped to the cradle in the usual way, and minimizes any objectionable drop of the coal during its passage into the pan.

To reduce the power required for tilting the cradle, I provide a track construction which causes a partial tilting of the cradle during the lifting operation; that is, before the cradle reaches the pivot about which the turning movement is accomplished. The preferred construction for carrying out this feature embodies an inclined trackway 30 which extends upwardly along the columns of the frame ID. This trackway is adapted to be engaged by the rollers 3| which are journalled on the cradle. In Fig. l, the cradle is illustrated in three positions, the full lines showing the tilting position, the broken lines Ila showing the lowermost position, and the broken lines Ilb showing the intermediate position. The intermediate position shows a slightly tilted cradle which is caused by the fact that the upper part of the trackway 30 is in a different vertical plane from the lower part. Accordingly, the trackway has an upper reach 32 and a lower reach 33 which are in substantially parallel planes, and which are connected by an inclined portion 34. The net result of this construction is a material saving in power that is required for turning the cradle at the top of the lifting operation.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that I have provided a simple and efiective mechanism for maintaining a continuous flow of coal and for reducing the drop between the car and the cradle wall. Additionally, it will be apparent that by inclining the cradle trackway outwardly, the cradle is partially turned during the lifting operation without any appreciable increase in power required for that purpose. Then, when the cradle reaches the top of the lifting movement, it may be turned with less power than has been previously required Where the trackway has been straight throughout its entire length. r

I have found that a further advantage of the present invention is the fact that the side walls of cars are automatically straightened after they are tipped on their sides in the normal operation of the cradle during the car emptying operation.

Usually, the side walls of the cars are bulged outwardly and are distorted as a result of the pressure exerted thereagainst while transporting a, load. The straightening takes place automatically and is a result which was detected when the invention was put to commercial use.

I claim:

1. In a car dumper, the combination of a car receiving cradle having a smooth side wall against which the side of the car is adapted to be supported during the turning movement of the cradle, the wall having recesses therein for receiving the ladder handles on the side of the car and having a smooth uninterrupted surface above the recesses.

2. In a car dumper, the combination, with a frame, of a car receiving cradle having a wall lying in a substantially vertical plane when the cradle is in normal lifting position on the frame, said wall having a smooth surface for engaging the side of a car for a considerable distance along such side and having a recess extending for the height of the body of a car suitable to be re- I ceived on the cradle, said recess being adapted to receive 'the ladder rods on the side of the car.

3. In a car dumper, the combination with the frame of a car receiving cradle having a wall lying in a substantially vertical lane when the cradle is in normal lifting position on the frame, said wall having a smooth surface for engaging the side of a car for a considerable distance along such side, said wall being diverted inwardly to provide a shallow recess extending up and down the wall.

4. In a car dumper, a car receiving cradle having a wall for engaging the side of the car, said wall having a pair of recesses extending up and down the wall and spaced apart a distance somewhat less than the length of the car suitable for use on the cradle, whereby one recess is adapted to receive the ladder rods on the side of the car adjacent one end and the other recess to receive the grab-iron on the same side of the car near the other end, while intermediately the face of the wall may engage the car side.

5. In a car dumper, the combination of a car receiving cradle having a smooth side wall against which the side of the car is adapted to be supported during the turning movement of the eradle, the wall having a recess therein for receiving the ladder handles on the side of the car and having a smooth uninterrupted surface above the recess in the same plane as the wall.

6. A car dumper, the combination of a car receiving cradle having a wall against which the side of the car is adapted to be supported during the turning movement of the cradle, said wall having a recess extending up and down the wall when the cradle is in normal lifting position and terminating short of the top of the wall, the back of the recess being closed by a plate which at the top of the recess inclines gradually to the front face of the wall and meets such front face some distance below the top of the wall, said recess being adapted to receive the ladder handles on the side of the car when the surface of the wall abuts the side of the car.

ROBERT W. KALTENBACH. 

